Foreign Policy & Security News

Professor Niall Ferguson, who spoke at the launch of Policy Exchange’s new Anglo-American project, argued that the best historical analogy for the current balance of powers is with the pentarchy of five great powers that dominated European (and hence world) affairs for a century after the Congress of Vienna of 1814-15. A modern pentarchy was created in the form of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Professor Ferguson argues that “Whether or not these five great powers can make common cause once again is the great geopolitical question of our time.”

The new Policy Exchange report warning that undersea communications cables are vital to our economy but vulnerable to attached attracted widespread national and regional media coverage, including its author, Rishi Sunak MP, appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme and writing for the Telegraph.

In the struggle against Islamist extremism, history matters. It is often under-appreciated how far the groups across the Islamist spectrum, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Daesh, are powered by a simplistic, yet powerful, historical narrative. In the inaugural Elie and Sylvia Kedourie Lecture, “The Importance of History: The Chatham House Version Revisited”, Sir John Jenkins – former UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, co-author of the UK Government’s review of British policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood and a Policy Exchange Senior Fellow – critiques the tendency towards shallow, one-dimensional thinking about the Middle East that infects much Western commentary and analysis on the region.

Policy Exchange was delighted to welcome the Hon Peter Dutton MP, Australia’s immigration minister, who reflected on the need for a carefully managed migration system in order to maintain public support for continuing new arrivals. A packed audience heard how the Australian government’s approach has tackled people trafficking while also ensuring Australia has the skilled migrants it needs and maintaining a generous settlement programme for refugees.

Hannah Stuart — Policy Exchange’s Co-Head of Security and Extremism — responds to new figures which suggest counter-terror agencies have registered a 600% surge in tip-offs after the recent attacks in Manchester and London.

The Defence Secretary, the Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP addressed a record crowd at Policy Exchange’s summer reception — kindly sponsored by CQS. Sir Michael’s remarks about the need for military values to be considered more by politicians made it the most widely reported Policy Exchange Summer Party ever, including by Sky News, the BBC and the Huffington Post. He also paid tribute to Policy Exchange for our work “on lawfare and to enrich the debate on national security” — in reports such as The Fog of Law and Clearing the Fog of Law.

Hannah Stuart, co-head of Policy Exchange’s Security and Extremism Unit, appeared on the BBC’s current affairs documentary programme Panorama about last week’s terrorist attack in Manchester. Hannah discussed the sophistication of the explosive device used and the likelihood that bomber Salman al-Abeidi was not acting alone.

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